1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to analytical tools and data collection relating to tires and more particularly, to tools for collecting and analyzing cost and usage data of an individual tire over the life of a tire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tires are a major expense for companies that operate large fleets of vehicles. In fact, for some fleet operators, the costs associated with tires are one of their highest costs next to fuel costs. Fleets are organizations that operate with a large number of vehicles and tires and include, for example, long-haul trucking companies, delivery and shipping companies, waste collection and disposal companies, bus operators, car and rental truck agencies, companies that operate fleets of off-the road (OTR) vehicles (e.g., fork lifts, skid steers, earth movers) and companies such as airline companies and air freight companies that operate with large numbers of aviation tires and OTR tires.
There is a need to improve the management of tires in the industry. While preventive maintenance programs are well known and have been put in place by many fleet operators, these preventive maintenance programs are more directed to the vehicles rather than to the tires. While such programs often have a tire component, the programs have not been successful in providing a useful tire management tool for managing tires from their procurement to their disposal.
One example of a preventive maintenance type tire management system may be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2009/0307031 of Winkler, et al. The system disclosed therein is described as providing centralized management and an analysis of fleet information. The described system is performed similarly to other preventive maintenance systems and does not provide the level of tire management that is needed by fleet managers today. There is a need for tire management tools that can help the industry to more effectively manage their tires.